Burton Cummings

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ ROOTSandBLUES

Musician Burton Cummings, lead singer and songwriter of Canadian rock Group The Guess Who will be the headliner for the ROOTSandBLUES music festival this year.

The Canadian icon leads a weekend of Canadian and North American artists to perform July 25 to 27 in Salmon Arm.

“For the closing band on Saturday night, I was thinking about classic Canadiana and the artists we’d love to see on that stage. I thought of Burton Cummings, one of the greatest rock voices in history, let alone Canadian history, and I could picture what that would sound like and what that would look like, with our mountain backdrop and the crowd coming together,” Kevin Tobin, artistic director said in a press release.

Cummings has hit singles and albums under his belt, including American Woman, These Eyes, and No Time.

The Friday night show will feature Mexican-American group Los Lobos, known for their song La Bamba.

“They have this whole history of being influential on the rock ‘n’ roll scene, as well as with other sounds like Tex Mex and world music,” Tobin says in the release.

Finishing the festival on Sunday night will be British Columbia artist Colin James and his band.

“We wanted to close the festival with another feel-good, BC artist who would bring some incredible energy to closing out three momentous days—and we couldn’t think of anyone better than Colin James. He has such a dynamic band and he’s just released another outstanding album,” Tobin says in the release.

While the currency of many music groups is the American dollar and with a weaker Canadian dollar in mind, this year's lineup was based on a responsible budget to find artists suitable for multiple generations, some artists familiar to many and others new and exciting.   

Attendees will also have the opportunity to listen to a mix of artists and styles, from Africa and Scandinavia, to banjos, blues, funk, string bands and Indigenous artists on the Plulk’w Place stage. There should be something for everyone.      

“Attendees are going to experience a lineup that will take them almost right across the world, and they’re all going to come here and perform in Salmon Arm,” Tobin says in the release.

Festival weekend, day passes and camping passes are available here, or by calling 250-833-4096

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